thoughts on delrin?

Planterz said:
I like delrin well enough, but it depends on the knife and the delrin. For example, I don't care for it when it's masquerading as something else, like jigged bone.
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Agreed! I don't want Delrin on every knife, but on the right knife smooth Delrin really sings. I can't imagine my beloved Case Peanut in anything but yeller Delrin, for example.

I keep my orange Delrin 74 Mustang in my hiking pack. It's already a practical blade and handle shape, and the woods-friendly color is a good fit there.
 
Planterz said:
I don't care for it when it's masquerading as something else, like jigged bone.
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As in Cold Steel's faux jigged bone?

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:barf:
 
jackknife said:
Delrin is good stuff, and can last as long as the knife. Very rugged and wear resistant. I think the old Buck 301's from the 1970's were delrin, as were all those beat up Schrade Old Timers that looked like thee been through the war. Saw cut or jigged delrin gives good grip under wet conditions. I have luke warm feeling of the stuff when they try to make it look like stag, like in the Schrade Uncle Henry series, but I guess it's okay even then. At least the texture give a good grip.

I wish Victorinox would go to it and do away with the 'cellidor' stuff they use.
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I totally agree that it would be awesome if Victorinox would switch their cellidor handle material to delrin. And if they riveted the scales on, rather than the 'press on' method they use with the cellidor. Red delrin would look just as nice, could still probably include the metal inlaid Swiss cross, and would hold up and continue looking good MUCH better and MUCH longer.

Jim
 
This Delrin covered 8-dot 6214-1/2 wasn't likely one of Case's top shelf offerings back then, but I think they did a pretty decent job with the jigging.

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That knife was the second slipjoint I'd ever bought, the first being a French Laguiole. Knowing nothing about slipjoints, I had no idea that Cold Steel's description of "faux jigged bone" translated into plastic. Ugh. Part of the education of a knife nut I suppose.
 
A bias against Delrin? And this is the Traditional forum, correct? Hmmm. Oh well, to each his own.

I like Delrin on traditional knives (prefer bone but most times you can't get it). I don't know why. It's probably because I have so many traditionals with Delrin® handles. Hey, maybe it's because I'm a blue jeans and t-shirt kind of guy and Delrin® is kind of a blue jeans and t-shirt handle material. I also like orange - on modern knives, not traditionals. Someone gave me an Opinel with orange handles and I like it a lot.

Just one man's opinion. Your mileage may vary.
 
It does what it was designed to do very well . I have never seen any that was broken . It is great for being on a Working Knife . By definition , it does not belong on an expensive knife . Either molded jigged or molded saw cut is okay because you know it is cheap , but there has been some very nice looking knives made with Delrin handles too .

Harry
 
As a collector of mainly scout patterns and Camillus knives, Delrin is what the majority of my collection is comprised of. When done right, jigged Delrin can look pretty darned good, IMO.

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If I remember correctly, Delrin can be both carved and burned in a pattern, and also dyed like bone. Therefore, the quality of the cover is only limited to the artistry and the ingenuity of the maker. I've been wanting to modify some Delrin for quite some time, to see if I can enhance the looks of some of my uglier knives.

Be it tradition or naturally good aesthetics, I'm very okay with smooth yellow Delrin covers.

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But most smooth Delrin looks like hell to me. Especially GEC's orange. It's quite practical, but hideous.
 
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I like CASE and Buck's Yellow D on plain working knives, and yes it certainly does show up well if you drop it. Buck's sawn black is tough grippy stuff that in no way feels cheap in the hand. It's nice to own and use such knives.

GEC's Orange is to me revolting, just looks cheap and even waxy. Kind of reminds me of ghastly cars we had in Europe in the 70s/80s in Tangerine...:barf: And these horrible Fiskars scissors we still have here..:eek:

But then, I don't like blue knives at all, won't touch them :D but I think CASE did an American Workman series in blue delrin some years ago. There must be fans....:D
 
Camillus said:
So what do people think of delrin? Does it wear well? How does it work as an EDC?
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jackknife said:
Delrin is good stuff, and can last as long as the knife. Very rugged and wear resistant. I think the old Buck 301's from the 1970's were delrin, as were all those beat up Schrade Old Timers that looked like thee been through the war. Saw cut or jigged delrin gives good grip under wet conditions. I have luke warm feeling of the stuff when they try to make it look like stag, like in the Schrade Uncle Henry series, but I guess it's okay even then. At least the texture give a good grip.

I wish Victorinox would go to it and do away with the 'cellidor' stuff they use.

On a higher end knife like GEC, I'm not sure I'd like it. Paying that kind of money, I expect at least some nice wood or jigged bone.
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I pretty much agree with Carl.
I grew up with Delrin handled traditional pattern knives in the 60's, so it feels traditional to me. One of the neat things about Delrin is that it can be dyed in a manner very similar to bone.
Here's a nice thread on that topic:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/439751-Dupont-Delrin-Staglon-Research

Jigged, smooth, or faux stag. I'm good with it for EDC. Really tough. Feels good in the hand. Don't have to worry about messing it up when you use the knife. The GEC farm and field knives are a great example. So are the old Schrade and Camillus knives. I actually prefer Delrin to other materials on a work knife.
But for a fancy knife with a high end price, I'm probably going to be more interested in a fancier material.
 
My first experience with it was as a bolt in paintball guns. It wcas a good materials though. Tough, for plastic. It won't chip out. It isn't brittle like most plastic.
 
knarfeng said:
I pretty much agree with Carl.
I grew up with Delrin handled traditional pattern knives in the 60's, so it feels traditional to me. One of the neat things about Delrin is that it can be dyed in a manner very similar to bone.
Here's a nice thread on that topic:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/439751-Dupont-Delrin-Staglon-Research

Jigged, smooth, or faux stag. I'm good with it for EDC. Really tough. Feels good in the hand. Don't have to worry about messing it up when you use the knife. The GEC farm and field knives are a great example. So are the old Schrade and Camillus knives. I actually prefer Delrin to other materials on a work knife.
But for a fancy knife with a high end price, I'm probably going to be more interested in a fancier material.
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Get outta my head, Frank! This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the subject. I grew up with the stuff. Makes a good handle on a working knife.
 
I also think that delrin is the best option for a working knife. It's very practical and tough and that's all that matters. Some of it can look very nice, I especially like old timer sawcut delrin. If you want a real user then go with delrin but aside from that I prefer bone, stag or whatever else. I think the only GEC I would ever consider in delrin is a 71 or 21, but then there's the micarta that's just as tough and looks much better.
 
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Delrin is tough as nails and is maintenance free. That said, I prefer natural materials for the scales on my tradionals.
 
rishma said:
I like delrin, though I don't care for the look on your 74. The fancy bolster and orange delrin seems like a mismatch (to me). On a sodbuster? Delrin is a perfect material for such a working knife. Heck, I like jigged delrin like you see on usa Schrade, even when it's pretending to be bone. Different tastes.
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This particular knife is a bit of an oddity, they made a whole bunch of stainless steel 74's last year, and there were some leftover blades which were seconds, which they handled in delrin. I think I might have hooked up with this one through Bob Andrews. Anyway that explains the reason this knife looks like it does.

I am glad to see a few people agree with me about its looks. Its both nice and wrong looking at the same time. I tried to put it in my box with my other GECs and it just looked wrong - some kind of cheap stepbrother that looked like a chinese imitation. I had to store it separately. Then I sold it when I realised I wouldn't use it either as I already had better beater outdoors knives for that purpose. Now I have sellors remorse and regret selling it. Knife collecting is such an emotional rollercoaster!

Would it look better in black sawcut delrin? Would it ever!
 
Buzzbait said:
As a collector of mainly scout patterns and Camillus knives, Delrin is what the majority of my collection is comprised of. When done right, jigged Delrin can look pretty darned good, IMO.

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Whoa! :eek: :thumbup: That certainly changes my negative impression of jigged/worked Delrin. I've never seen it look that good.
 
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